With the proliferation of optical communication systems the use of small fiber optic connectors has become more prevalent. Optical connectors are typically made of plastic and are useful components for joining optical fibers or waveguide arrays at their ends. Optical connectors are typically pluggable, meaning that they may allow for repeated connection and disconnection. There are many types of optical connectors available on the market today.
FIG. 1 shows an example a Mechanically Transferable or “MT”-style connector. Some also refer to “MT” as Multi-Terminal connectors. MT connectors are one type of what are known as small form factor (SFF) connectors. MT connectors are popular for parallel optical data transmission since they provide a high fiber count in a dense connector package comprising an arrayed configuration of fiber holes aligned in a single ferrule. Commercially available MT connectors may comprise anywhere from two to twenty-four connection points and in the future will likely comprise many times that number.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown an example of an MT-style connector. FIG. 1 shows a female portion 100 and a male portion 102 of the connector. FIG. 2 shows a more detailed plan view of the female portion 100. A female input 101 and a male input 103 may comprise either optical fibers or waveguide arrays intended to be optically connected to each other. Both the female portion 100 and the male portion 102 hold arrays of corresponding exposed optical connection points 104 and 106 in ferrules, 108 and 110. The connection points 104 and 106 may be aligned by a pair of metal guide pins 112 at the end of the male portion 102, which join into guide holes 114 on the female portion 100. The MT connector may be locked together by a push and click mechanism or may comprise a fastener (not shown) that clips between the end 116 of the female portion 100 and the end 118 of the male portion 102.